Over the years, Mattel has partnered withWWEon some very cool exclusive action figures. We’ve gotten everything from “Macho Man” Randy Savage in the gear he wore in Slim Jim commercials, two Muhammed Ali figures, and even a detailed action figure of the most meme’d wrestler of all time,The Shockmaster. For 2025, Mattel looked to a more recent star to commemorate with a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive:John Cena.
We are currently over halfway through Cena’s final year as an active WWE competitor. He says he will never wrestle again after this December and is currently dominating WWE as its champion. This particular title is an important one, as it marks a record 17th world championship win for Cena, surpassing the 16 Ric Flair reigns recognized by WWE. In reality, Flair had over 20 world title reigns, spread across WWE, WCW, and the NWA.
A landmark achievement like Cena’s is unheard of in the modern day, where Roman Reigns was world champion for over 1,300 days and the man who beat him – Cody Rhodes – held the title for an additional year before losing to Cena. As such, Mattel’s Comic-Con offering is an immensely detailed Cena figure that comes with the numerous world championships he’s won. The figure is part of Mattel’s Ultimate line of products, which are the most detailed and articulated the company offers, and it’s been in the works for quite a while.
John Cena, Action Figure Champion Of The World
“We take a long-term view on our SDCC exclusives to deliver the best, most exciting product for fans,” PJ Lewis, Mattel’s SVP and Global Head of Action Figures, told TheGamer. “Given John’s announcement in 2024, we felt this was a perfect opportunity and moment to celebrate his career as one of the WWE’s most popular Superstars and our action figure partnership.”
It’s hard to argue Cena isn’t deserving of a Comic-Con exclusive. A quick look at theWrestling Figure Databaseshows that with over 750 individual toys, no other wrestler has had the number of figures Cena has. Even the lateHulk Hogan, arguably the most popular professional wrestler of all time, never had even500 different action figures. Truly, Cena is in a class by himself, and this new figure encompasses that. Of course, there’s a reason for his having so many figures that stretches beyond mere popularity.
“Throughout his career, John’s ring gear changes and themes have given us a lot to work with in action figures resulting in a very compelling line of collectibles,” Lewis explained. And he’s not wrong, seemingly every time Cena’s appeared on WWE programming over the last decade, it’s been with an entirely new set of brightly colored merchandise that would make for the perfect new action figure look.
Even More John Cena Is On The Way
While this is the final year of Cena’s wrestling career, chances are you’ll be buying his wrestling action figures for decades to come. Mattel is still producing figures for talent from the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s – and most of them were not the household names Cena has become.
Besides, there is too much potential for unique Cena figures. Already, Mattel has released atransparent figure– in stores now – and even a fantasy world version of Cena as a member of the New World Order, based on his Firefly Funhouse match withBray Wyatt.
For now, though, it’s hard to view this SDCC Ultimate exclusive as anything other than the definitive John Cena figure. Thanks to the titles and the fact that he always wrestles in jorts, this could cover almost any point in his career – from his first world championship win at Wrestlemania 21 forward, anyway.
And if you can’t make it out to San Diego but you are a Cena collector, all hope may not be lost. While the figure is currently sold out onMattel Creations, it could end up being restocked, much like the exclusives from the last couple of years.
